As the trend in semiconductors continues towards reduced critical dimensions, integrated circuits involving millions of transistors on a single chip have become commonplace. Due to the large number of devices on a single chip, an entire industry has evolved specifically to supply the semiconductor industry with software and hardware tools to automate much of the process of integrated circuit design.
Electronic design automation (EDA) tools are computer-based tools that assist through automation of procedures that would otherwise be performed manually. Simulation of proposed design functionality and synthesis of integrated circuit logic and layout are two examples.
An integrated circuit may implement logic functions that are a combination of various standard cells. A finished design may then be provided to a fabrication facility (fab) for manufacture. While the finished design may accomplish an intended purpose, there are various process windows (i.e. ranges) that must be satisfied to successfully mass-produce an integrated circuit (IC). As more complicated designs are developed to achieve higher performance and higher reliability as well as efficient chip scaling, the demand placed on process window optimization increases. It is therefore desirable to have improvements in process window optimization to address the aforementioned challenges.